The oppressive Swiss outfit named Lykhaeon conjure up some rather bleak and unsettling soundscapes on this 2-track EP of theirs entitled "Ominous Eradication of Anguished Souls" that are as pitch black as they are vile. While parallels to orthodox and dissonant French black metal ala Hell Militia and Aosoth can easily be made, Lykhaeon also sound inspired by murky and sinister death metal as well as obscure doom metal. In other words, we are dealing with some dark and depraved stuff here, folks. Pummeling guitars, rumbling bass lines, switchblade vocals and organic drums all come together to create a rather apocalyptic and foreboding musical ritual with plenty of hypnotic and haunting aspects to it. Some interesting nuances and subtle details creep into the mix from time to time and add some captivating layers to the two compositions, and they do possess variety and dynamics despite them might coming across as slightly one-dimensional the first couple of times one listens to them. Luckily, the EP is all about establishing and maintaining a certain mood as opposed to technical flair or dazzling musicianship, which works in its favor as "Ominous Eradication of Anguished Souls" is definitely quite heavy on atmosphere. The diverse and insane vocals are undoubtedly the highlight of the disc in that they range from schizophrenic screams to deep growls and further on to eerie whispers and disturbing spoken words. In other words, there is plenty of pain and anguish for all your perverted needs to be found on this cool-looking digipak release.

If raw, violent, and claustrophobic black metal with death and doom metal undertones to it sounds strangely appealing then by all means check this one out. It is solid and not without its merits, but it is not necessarily one for the history books. Worth looking into for all you BM aficionados out there who are into punishing and caustic doomsday music.

 

https://lykhaeon.bandcamp.com/